Cream cheese and Neufchatel cheese are soft, mild, acid-coagulated uncured cheeses made of dairy products including cream, such as mixtures of cream and milk. Cream cheese, which is stored under refrigeration conditions, has a smooth and butter-like consistency with a delicate dairy flavor profile, which does not accommodate off-flavors. The texture and body of cream cheese at refrigeration temperatures is such that the cream cheese can be sliced and spread. In making cream cheese, sweet whole milk and/or skim milk and sweet cream are typically blended in preselected proportions to form a cream cheese mix. The cream cheese mix normally has a butterfat content of from about 10% to about 14% (and in certain make procedures up to as much as 20%) by weight, so that after processing, the finished cream cheese product will have a butterfat content of from about 33% to about 35% (and in certain make procedures such as wheyless procedures, up to as much as 38%) by weight.
The cream cheese mix is preheated (e.g., to about 135.degree. F.), homogenized and pasteurized, after which it is cooled, usually to a temperature between 62.degree. F. and 92.degree. F. and inoculated with a lactic acid culture. Rennet may be used to aid the coagulation of the mix. The mix is held at the inoculation temperature until it has ripened and a coagulum is formed. The acidity of the coagulum may typically be in the range of from about 0.6% to about 0.9% (calculated as percent equivalent lactic acid), and the pH of the cultured coagulum may typically be in the range of from about 4.2 to about 5.0.
After the desired degree of culture activity and acidity is obtained, the curd is separated from the whey and is thereafter packaged. One well known process for making cream cheese and separating cream cheese curd from whey includes a mechanical separation of the curd. This process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,387,276 to Link. In accordance with the method of the Link patent, after the mix is ripened to form a coagulum, the coagulum is heated to an elevated temperature to break the viscosity of the mix. Thereafter, the heated mix is centrifuged at the elevated temperature (e.g., 180.degree. F.) to separate the curd from the whey.
Milkfat is a commodity dairy product which has a relatively high seasonal price variation, with highest cost season typically coinciding with peak cream cheese production requirement. Concentrated milkfat, which, if properly prepared, can be frozen and stored for at least 12 months before use, could be purchased during the low cost season, then used to make cream cheese during the high cost, high demand season. However, the potential use of concentrated milkfat in cream cheese production poses several quality issues: the concentrated milkfat should be melted and thoroughly mixed with, and in the correct ratio to, the milk and/or cream to form a cream cheese mix of appropriate composition. Poor mixing and/or incorrect composition will lead to defects in the finished product such as butterchips. If the concentrated milkfat is melted and held at an elevated temperature for any extended period of time, the fat may begin to oxidize and the finished product will have a rancid off-flavor or limited storage stability.
Many efforts have been made to develop cream cheese products which contain various controlled fat levels. Examples of such efforts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,804 to Davis relating to soft-bodied cream cheese production. U.S. Pat. No. 2,161,159 to Lundstedt, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,892 to Hynes, et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,244,983 and 4,379,175 to Baker, have reduced fat levels and describe the incorporation of a variety of dairy components into cream-cheese type products. However, none of these references describe the incorporation of stored, concentrated milkfat under conditions which preserve its characteristics without generation of off-flavors.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods utilizing stored, concentrated milkfat components for producing cream cheese products which have the appearance, taste, consistency and texture of cream cheese made with a conventional cream-containing cream cheese mix.
It is another object to provide commercially effective methods for making cream cheese products which may be adapted to large scale commercial operations.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.